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A football team can never have too many weapons and Mineral Point is proving that each time they take the field.
Friday it was junior Joah Filardo who got the touches and he turned three of them into touchdowns. His first was a 69 yard run to get things going for the Pointers in the opening quarter when it was a little over a minute old. That set the tone for a 69-6 win over the visiting Platteville Hillmen.
At 5:53 he was quarterback Liam Stumpf's target and the two clicked on a 27 yard scoring pass play.
After Stumpf got in from the two 12 seconds into the second quarter the two hooked up again on a 68 yard touchdown that gave Filardo a trio of scores. That tally came at 8:48.
Filardo's career night
"Joah had a huge night for us and showed that he is a dominant football player," coach Andy Palzkill said. "The fact that he has stepped up as a true weapon only makes this team stronger, His first score was due to the fact that Liam was injured playing corner on the first play from scrimmage. Joah has been playing quarterback since he was a freshman and he currently rotates with Liam during practice. It is very comforting when a young man like Joah can step in at quarterback and you know that you will not miss a beat offensively."
And it didn't stop there for Filardo.
"Upon Liam's return, Joah continued to make big plays from the receiver position," said Palzkill. "I did talk with Joah, Dom, and Liam before the game regarding how Joah was likely to get less attention due to Dom's success in the previous two games. I thought that Liam did a good job of picking the best matchup for us and distributing the ball accordingly. We are very luck to have a number of incredible players to get the ball to on offense."
"Lastly, I am proud of the way Joah has prepared himself for this football season," said Palzkill. "He has worked hard to become better physically and he is understanding the game at a high level at this point in his career."
Stumpf was next, scoring again for the Pointers on a nine yard jaunt that made it 35-0.
Before the half ended the Pointers had 35 second quarter points with the final two coming on a 54 yard run by Will Straka and a 52 yard interception return by Bodie Bossert with 45 seconds left.
That made it 49-0 and included a night of perfection by Bo Hanson on extra point kicks as he made all nine tries.
The reigning WSN Player of the Week, Dom McVay, got the next score doing what he does best, returning a kickoff. This one he weaved his way to the end zone from 77 yards out.
The score swelled to 63-0 when Brendan Lynch stepped across the goal line with a six yard carry.
The final score came with freshman quarterback Gibsen Sporle at the helm and he scored by finding a seam on a keeper that he carried 70 yards to paydirt.
The Hillmen got a consolation touchdown when senior running back John Goomey scored on a two yard plunge.
There were not many blades of grass in the Mineral Point stadium that Pointers did not cover as they ran for 403 yards and passed for 142 more with Stumpf making good on five of six for 134 and Sporle one of one for eight.
Filardo picked up 104 yards on four carries, Straka 92 on seven tries, Sporle 74 on five, McVay 50 with three carries, Stumpf 46 on six and Lynch 37 on three.
Filardo caught two passes for 95, Straka one for 35, McVay two for four and Ross Lindsey one for eight.
Stump's Continued Improvement
"Liam has grown up quickly at the quarterback position and has played excellent football right out of the gate this year," Palzkill said. "His athleticism and intelligence are allowing him to find this success. It is amazing how much pressure he puts on a defense with his speed and his arm strength. He has also proven to be very accurate in the passing game. He is a special player and he will continue to develop throughout the season."
"Over the years, we have been able to develop a diverse and versatile offense," Palzkill continued. "Liam is a perfect fit for our spread concepts and he is surrounded by great athletes. The ball can be trusted to be in the hands of Will, Dom, Joah, Bo, Leyten, Brendan, Bodie and others. All of these young men are playmakers for us and it makes us difficult to defend! I feel like our ability to be balanced in terms of running and passing gives us an advantage each week."
It Starts in the Trenches
"It needs to be stated that Coach Chad Whitford and Coach Chris Mitchell do outstanding job with our lineman," Palzkill said. "These two coaches have developed a dominant group of lineman within our football program. It is rewarding to see them coach and then watch the athletes find success with the fundamentals they have learned. They have fostered a hard working attitude and demand the players to be aggressive and physical".
"We currently have an outstanding group of veteran lineman in Gabe Sporle, Mitchell Aurit, Mason Hughes, Nolan Springer, Chandler Workman and are seeing some younger players improve each day. For example, Owen Ward is doing a great job at center and Will Schute, Max Murphy, Jimmy Tibbits, and Griffin Albaugh are all seeing varsity action and playing well. As we all know, football games are won at the line of scrimmage and our lineman are winning the battle for us this season," Palzkill said.
Other Solid Performances
"Bodie Bossert continues to improve for us on both sides of the ball,"said Palzkill. "He made a great play late in the second quarter Friday night coming off the #1 receiver to make an interception intended for #2 in our cover 2 scheme. Bodie certainly showed an ability to cut and his speed to find the endzone on that 52 yard interception return."
Youth is Served
"Games like last week are very important for building confidence on Friday nights and to allow our younger athletes valuable game experience," Palzkill said. "We were very pleased with our reserves on Friday night because we watched them play at a high level. We did not have any dropoff in effort and in general they played with good technique. Our coaches were proud of the effort we saw Friday night and the future looks bright for Mineral Point Football."
Final Thoughts
"Overall, it was a great team effort," Palzkill. "We are playing good football in the early stages of the season and it is encouraging to know that we have things to continue to improve upon. I am excited to see how this team will develop and am hopeful that we have the opportunity to continue to play."
The opponent for this week is still undetermined as the Platteville game was moved up a week as both had opponents with COVID issues. The search is on for an opponent as this is written.
'It is a very uncertain time and we will just have to adjust to what happens each week and stay positive about the chance to play each Friday night," Palzkill said.
Due to a decision Monday night the Mineral Point School Board made the decision to go virtual for two weeks, shutting down athletic competition.
Homecoming was to be this week, but has been moved to Friday, November 6,